Children's Museum of Phoenix

My neighborhood MOMS Club went to the Children's Museum of Phoenix today. It has only been open a few months, so this was our first visit. The kids loved it, as it was designed just for them. Here are a few pictures.

Where has my baby gone?

I no longer have a baby that sleeps in a crib. I now have a 2 year old that sleeps in a big-boy bed. We just got it today. Nathan has been wanting a big boy bed for while, as when it's bed time, he prefers Joshua's bed to his crib. I wanted to keep him in the crib for a while longer, but Gary thought it was time. So down went the crib and up went the bed.

Joshua had to try out Nathan's bed to make sure it was OK

If only bed time was this easy

He's finally asleep

My sweet Nathan and his constant companion "Polar Bear" which he calls "Bo Bo"

Joshua helping to feed the hungry

Our church organized a summer missions project for the children's ministry this year. They partnered with Feed My Starving Children to help raise money for meals to send to 3rd world countries. The kids collected quarters all summer to help raise money. They also offered an opportunity to actually assemble and pack these meals. Joshua said in the car one day after church that he wanted to help pack meals for the hungry kids, so I signed him up (and myself) to help. We went on Monday for a 2 hour shift and it was awesome. We worked in one of several small assembly lines and worked non-stop for the 2 hours. I wish I would have taken my camera to take a picture of him weighing the meals and packing them. We even had to wear hair-nets, which Joshua was not too fond of. It was a good experience for him. When he got too tired of packing, I sent him to the coloring station, where he could color pictures on the outside of the cardboard boxes that were being sent over. Joshua was so tired that he fell asleep in the car on the home.

Last Wednesday

It's been a little while since my last post, so I'll try to catch up. Last Wednesday, we went to lunch with my BFF Melinda and her son Simon. It was our last play day before school starts back up. We went to Chuck E Cheese. The kids had a blast.

Nathan on the race car

Joshua and Simon on the monster truck

Joshua and Simon

The First Ever Brawley Family Camping Trip

We got back from the first ever Brawley Family Camping trip yesterday (Sunday). It rained every day and it got pretty windy at times. Joshua said that he doesn't want to go back to Flagstaff as it is too rainy and windy. He got a little scared sleeping in the tent with the wind and rain shaking all around. The last night in the tent, I had both boys in bed with me (that doesn't allow for much rest). We were able to do a little hiking between rain storms. We also went to the Lowell Observatory (where Pluto was discovered in 1930). The boys also went to see the Arizona Cardinals (football team) practice, as their training camp is held at Northern Arizona University (my alma mater). We had a good time camping, but the rain put a damper on things. Joshua's favorite part of camping was the "camping cereal." We bought a package of the individual boxes of cereal, which of course comes with 8 boxes of cereal that he normally doesn't get to eat (Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, Trix, etc). A few pictures of our trip are below:


Tiffany and Joshua on our hike through the beautiful Coconino Forest

Joshua found the perfect resting spot on our hike

The Brawley family

The best part of camping is the smores

Nathan likes the whole smores thing

The Brawley family tent

Inside the Brawley family tent

Escaping the Phoenix heat is what camping is all about

Camping...Here we Come!!

So for those of you that know me, I am not an "outdoor" person in the sense that I am not "one with the earth." We are getting ready to head out on our first ever Brawley camping trip. We are waiting for Nathan to wake up from his nap. The truck is loaded with the brand new Brawley tent that will be our place of dwelling for the next 3 nights and 4 days. We are headed up north to Flagstaff. Gary has been looking forward this day for quite some time. Joshua is already up at the campsite with Gary's parents. They went up yesterday with their 5th wheel/trailer to save us a spot. So I guess we're not completely "roughing it" as we will have Gary's parents trailer to shower in and everything. The 4 of us will, however, be sleeping in the tent. Joshua is very excited to sleep in our new tent. Nathan doesn't really comprehend what the near future has to offer. The weather forecast is for scattered showers all weekend, so that will only add to our adventure. I'll give you a full report upon our return.

The wisdom of a 4 year old

Here is a little bit of a conversation I had with Joshua today in the car:

Joshua: Mommy, I want to come back from Heaven
Me: What do you mean come back from Heaven?
J: I don't want to stay in Heaven because I want to stay with you and daddy
M: Well, mommy and daddy will probably get to Heaven before you do, so we'll wait for you at the door. If you get there first, we'll come and find you when we get there
J: Just look for me next to Jesus...you need to come to my Sunday School class so you can see a picture of him so you know what he looks like
M: Ok, we'll look for you next to Jesus
J: Will Mary and Joseph be there (in Heaven) too?
M: Yes, Mary and Joseph will be there
J: What about the mean man? I'm scared of the mean man
M: What mean man, there are no mean people in Heaven?
J: The really mean one, I think his name is Goliath
M: I don't think you'll see Goliath in Heaven, and if he is, he won't be mean anymore, because Heaven is full of only nice things
J: Why won't Goliath be in Heaven?
M: Only people with Jesus in their heart go to Heaven and I don't think Goliath had Jesus in his heart
J: Why does Jesus live in our heart?
M: You have to ask him to come and live in your heart
J: What is Jesus doing right now?
M: He's looking down on our car and keeping us safe as we drive. He can also hear us talking.

The conversation drifted to other topics from there, but I thought it was quite insightful for a 4 year old.